Marriage Moats- Another Gear

Published: Wed, 08/08/12

Marriage Moats

Caring for Marriage

In listening to a commentator describe the Olympics I heard a phrase that stayed with me.

"These athletes pull out another gear."

What happens when you are pushing your toned and trained body to run, leap, twirl or bend? It can be hard if not impossible to understand the depth of sacrifice these young and even not so young people make to excel in London. I can feel the numbers wash over me, of hours spent in the gym each week, of competitions leading up to this one, of micro seconds shaved off a lap, of trainers and coaches pushing from behind.

"Yeah, yeah, it was a tough road. But here you are, on the podium! It was all worth it!"

Yet did Gabby know that five years ago when she was sweating though another six hour stint on the parallel bars? Not likely. She hoped, which is more potent than knowing.

Couples who are pushing their weary spirits toward a winning marriage get exhausted too. Many of them keep running, sweat pouring down their foreheads. Their hearts hurt, their endurance wanes. They are straining to keep going, waiting for another gear to lock in.

But there is a crucial difference between marriage and the Olympics. There is plenty of room up on the podium.

It is delightful to see a result that comes from love by intention, not as it happens but beforehand, or not in the present but in the future. This is what gives us what we call hope.

Emanuel Swedenborg, Divine Providence 178

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